So I’m curious if they release the sneak peeks for this episode again, since they created such an uproar last week…lol. I did see that Marisa said that the showrunners/writers have no say over how the episode is promoted, so the way the promo was cut and the “relationship in jeopardy” stuff is all on Fox.

I know, I think the peeks may have been a mistake last week. The out of order thing could have gotten them. Episode 7 – according to taping is being aired as Episode 8. No telling about the relationship in jeopardy stuff….I always thought that was more the discretion of fox promo/ad people. But Fox never airs Bones ads anymore do they?

There is a group of fans out there tweeting about how Sully’s return will bring Booth and Brennan closer. I’m not sure how Brennan seeing Sully can bring her closer to her own husband, but maybe that’s just me? What it seems like we will get is an almost an entire episode with B&B apart so we can get this Sully storyline.

What age are they 12? Brenan is going to look really bad tonight….Srly I would be fine if he called her out on it but he won’t because Booth is like a saint during this. Ugh. This ep is going to be so bad. Karine really has no clue

Those comments are so funny at TVLine. Well tonight, Booth will shine. He will be the bigger man. It does boil down to the fact they killed off Max so Sully could return. That is just gross and makes me really mad!

Hey yall! I learned that FB can do a group chat so I will try to do one tonight for the East coast showing. Might be fun? Pop on there and comment so I pick just the ones who want to and I don’t annoy everyone lol

• Hard to watch the marital strife. Wish they could be comforting each other.
• Aubrey had to comfort Booth, he’s the only one right now seems like
• Two Sully hugs and she’s laughing and smiling with him. Ugh. But she’s grieving too much to be that way with her husband?
• Where was Sully when Brennan was shot or Booth or any of the other things that were big in her life? Why now?
• And they’ve supposedly been keeping in touch??
• Clark SPEAKS THE TRUTH!!!! THANK YOU CLARK! This is a very weird time for him to visit and Brennan is in a weird place right now.
• Hodgins’ clean face is weirding me out.
• Inviting Brennan to dinner is weird. Weird is my favorite word for this episode.
• Aubrey sees it too. Good I’m glad not everyone is on board with this. Aubrey and Clark are the voices of reason!
• Aw Booth is so sweet…he wants to be here for his wife. And if she wants him to go, he’ll go. I’m trying not to get mad at Brennan but she’s making it hard.
• Hey, a Hannah connection with the Vikings  lol
• This random Canadian investigator gets more time with Booth than Brennan
• Poor Booth. EVERYONE is trying to shut him out. Even the Canadian gal!
• She is opening up to SULLY about her dad????? It feels so weird for them to try to connect to the early seasons this way.
• Booth is looking out the window like “I lost my father-in-law, and my wife is shutting me out, and her ex is in town. The local law enforcement gal won’t help me. Life is fabulous.”
• Thought: Who is watching the kids now??
• Poor Russ doesn’t even get to be at his dad’s funeral!
• Interesting explanation by Brennan and I would almost buy it but she was so free and happy with Sully, it just still doesn’t feel right.
• The victim was thrown? Brennan that sounds like assuming, which you told us not to do!
• Another interesting setup with all the family drama and painting, but ends up being another accidental murder.
• They set up a dig that fast? Wowzers!
• Yeah they get to hug!! They need to hug like three times to equal Sully hugs lol
• We got an I LOVE YOU!!!! Ok I think the hugs even out…but no kiss. Bummer.
• Who are the random people at the memorial?
• BRENNAN ISNT WEARING BOOTS Y’ALL.
• Super sad memorial. Super duper sad.
• Yay, another B&B hug! One more than Sully got. Boom.
• THE PROMOOOOOOOOOOOOO I am actually happy about this one. Gordon Gordon!!

OK here we go! Getting ready to watch the episode with feelings of dread!
Thoughts while watching the episode tonight 😬
– Brennan clearly is grieving the loss of her father, but I just don’t like that she’s pushing Booth away.
– Booth is grieving too! Well at least Brennan did hug Angela.
– gag me! He’s arrived! “Oh he’s the only guy besides Booth who stood a chance.” They’re laughing and now hugging again, gag.
– oh my God, he touches her and called her Tempe. Only Max called her Tempe.
– he’s a sandwich maker?! Oh God…
– Booth agreed to readily to just go and leave Brennan alone with Sully back in town.
– so who is watching the kids now that all the babysitters have been killed off and Booth is in Canada and Brennan is at work? Angela and Jack are there too. Maybe they hired somebody.
– so Sully is getting Brennan drunk as she talks about Max oh that’s just great. Yeah I don’t know why you’re here crying with him either Brennan 😡😡
-So, it is Brennan that Sully is talking about when he says “the first woman I ever really loved” gag again .
– Well, at least he did say that he knew Brennan would not have choosen him and that “Booth is not going anywhere”.
– The scene of Booth looking through the blinds is reminiscent of season 6 episode where he was looking through the blinds at Brennan and Max. Bullet in the Brain I think it was.
– wow they mentioned Russ! No good reason why he cannot come to his dads funeral however.
– well regarding Brennans conversation with Angela, I don’t get it! She should be worried about her husband and how he is grieving over his loss also. Booth looks very sad also.
– goodbye Solly! Good luck with your young 28-year-old girlfriend! I still see no reason for him to have suddenly appeared because Brennan’s father died.
– Booth is home! Well that was a nice hug anyway. He looks good in that black short sleeve shirt!
– not liking her comment though about “without Sully I don’t think I would’ve been ready for you, for this” just as we thought! Sully was so important since when?
-” I love you Bones. Always.” Nice but a kiss would’ve been even nicer 😘
– Well I was sad about Max and his funeral! Not a very good hug we got from Booth and Brennan at the gravesite. Angela had a better one.
-And I noticed at the very end Booth is standing all alone while Brennan is hugging Cam and Angela. What’s with that?! 😡 They should be standing together arm in arm.

So the episode we saw Booth and Brennan apart most of the time. 😫 One nice hug when Booth returned home and and an love you. Im still missing their connection however.

The only reason Sully returned is to cause some angst with B&B. No way should he have been elevated to such importance in Brennans life. No reason, don’t get it .

– I don’t know if even Gordon Gordon can fix this!

– I worked today and I am working tomorrow. I work 12 hours so I will not be able to check back until tomorrow night!
Can’t wait to read what others thought about this episode.

I’m just sad that no one acknowledged Booth’s connection with Max. He was basically Booth’s surrogate father and grandpa to the kids and they had a sweet moment at the wedding…now Booth is minus his dad, Brennan’s dad, and apparently Pops. Big bummer!

Wow, I read another message board and I shouldn’t have, because there are a couple of really stupid comments out there.

First, a comment that Max was hardly a loss for Booth, that the loss was all Brennan’s and the kids. What???? As they always say…what show are these people watching? Booth was arguably as close, or even closer, to Max than Brennan. Yes, Brennan has her childhood memories. But since Max came back, Booth is the one who let him in first. Booth chose Max as Christine’s babysitter before Brennan would even consider it. Booth is the one who insisted that Max stay for dinner with them. Max told Booth to call him “dad”, which, by they way, I wish they had shown Booth do at least once. The was most definitely a big loss for Booth.

Second, people keep pointing out that Booth pushed Brennan away when his dad died. Yes, he did, but she didn’t take that crap and insisted on talking to him about it…she pushed him to look through the box his dad left him. She certainly didn’t leave town so he could go out with an old gf. No comparison at all in my mind.

I agree 100%, Estella. Max and Booth had a connection. I always thought they were a bit similar with their charm smiles and street smarts. Perhaps that’s part of what made Brennan keep Booth away at first? She recognized the similarity? Anyway, I loved the Booth/Max scenes, especially when Booth tried to arrest Max while still tied up in a chair after being tortured–and Max was helping to save him! lol

Max and Booth were very close in many ways. They bonded in that for sure. So much so, Max told Booth he wanted someone like Booth for his daughter. Max helped save Booth’s life once. How about in s2 when Max and Russ ran off and smashed Caroline’s car but before they did, Max said to Booth – you take care of her. Max trusted Booth and Booth trusted Max. Booth guided and enabled the relationship that finally developed between Max and Brennan. They had an incredible bond and respect for each other. It’s ridiculous if MP/JC don’t recognize and address that.
I always thought it was interesting. The fact that Booth worked really hard to convince Brennan to open her heart to Max. Yet Booth was never willing to open his heart to his own father. I know his relationship with his dad was more complicated, but I think when his dad died he regretted that in some way. Booth never got closure. And yes, to the point that he did push her away, she stayed and played by his rules until the very end. When she gave him what he really needed, the ability to remember the good in his father. A man we never saw and only knew through Booth’s eyes as a ‘bad dad’, was able to die and the writing was able to demonstrate to audience how close B&B were. I love that end scene between B&B and there wasn’t a kiss involved! LOL
Booth did what Brennan asked of him in this episode. As Brennan did when his dad died. Unfortunately Brennan said she wanted time alone. It took a lot for him to say ok and leave, especially with Sully there. You could look at it as demonstrating how much he loved and trusted her and their love. Booth did not see Sully as a threat. Like the other kids running around the lab like teenagers…..except for Hodgins!
This episode missed an end scene that demonstrated the closeness/love/bond between B&B. MP may be dragging it out…..maybe we will get that closeness scene later……but I wonder if he knows how to do it correctly. THAT is why the Sully stuff was so offensive to me. It didn’t belong there was so wrong at that moment. And when MP tweeted that Brennan NEEDED Sully then more than Booth, I just wondered what he’s smoking. Unless by Sully – he means just any random stranger. Because he’s only one rung above that in my mind! LOL

Well, I really cannot express how much I disliked this episode. Booth shunted aside and so sad was just more than I could take. Even thoughts of how good he looked in the episode can’t cheer me up tonight. I’m going to forget most of this season every happened. Max is still alive, Sully never returned, Booth and Brennan have flirty, romantic fun and are madly in love, with no exes showing up ever.

Canada Booth was sad & hurt and he never got to address it with Brennan. I think that annoyed me the most. That and how nobody seemed to care about Booth losing Max.

Here what confused me – Booth was upset about Brennan shutting him out. Right? So why was the B&B scene about Sully? Because that makes no sense to me, Booth needed too hear about about Brennan pushing him away, not about Sully who he didn’t care about at all – Sully was a non issue for Booth. I feel like Booth got jipped on this

Sully was not needed at all. I mean really did Karine have hots for him? Come on. The only thing that I sorta liked was him flat out knowing Brennan belonged to Booth….he knew the r/ship was at a dead end because Booth is the love life Brennan’s life.

Brennan’s line to Booth about Sully only works if I use what Peterson said “how he helped her grow as a person” that’s it. I don’t credit him with much more than he helped her see that there was more to life than one night stands, she could have r/ships if she wanted too…and she realized she only wanted one with Booth, him or no one….which is hogwash too cos she had casual relationships up to S5 but whateva Peterson. Just took her 4yrs to give Booth a chance

“Booth needed too hear about about Brennan pushing him away, not about Sully who he didn’t care about at all – Sully was a non issue for Booth. ”

I would agree that Sully was a non-issue, except for the fact that Booth clearly reacted when Sully asked Brennan out to dinner in front of him, and also when Brennan was looking at Sully as he was leaving the FBI offices. Unless DB was completely ad-libbing, why have those looks in there? And even if he was ad-libbing it was clearly visible in the scene so the director must have been ok with it. Was the done to make the audience think that Sully was a threat? Cheap drama.

And how about Sully asking Brennan to dinner right in front of Booth? Forget jealousy, that was just downright rude. Jerk. Go back to your 28 year old oboe player and leave B&B alone.

By the way, Ted Peterson is active on Twitter trying to defend the storyline, explaining how Brennan and Sully have kept in touch all these years. People are asking him why they didn’t address Hannah also if they thought it was so important to address Sully’s story. LOL.

Also, it looks like Parker will not be appearing on Bones again. Peterson said Parker will get a “reference” in an upcoming episode. Hard to believe that they thought it more important to bring back Sully than Parker, but as I said in a different post, they are only closing out Brennan’s story, apparently.

“TVLINE | The interaction between Brennan and Sully was actually very innocent. Did you ever consider having something more happen between the two of them, like a kiss or even sex?

We bandied it about the room a little bit. But Brennan’s just not that person. True, this is a vulnerable place for her, but she’s not somebody that will betray Booth, even though she’s [said] before that she’s not sure monogamy is natural.”

First, I cannot even fathom that they considered for one second having Brennan kiss or have sex with Sully. Awful. Can you imagine the fallout if they had done that? Second, didn’t they already cover the whole monogamy issue back when Fuentes hit on her, and she told Booth she would never jeopardize that they had together by having a meaningless fling? Why revisit that issue again?

“To find her father and to go through this journey with him, to finally forgive him for all that has happened, and then to lose him, it’s a defining moment for them. This crucible… it’s going to continue to the end of the season.”

Oh wonderful, so happy to hear that this “crucible’ will be with us till the end.

“even though she’s [said] before that she’s not sure monogamy is natural”

Yeah she said that BEFORE SHE GOT WITH BOOTH!! Why don’t they understand that B&B changed the game for each other?!?!?! Booth was not supposed to gamble again BECAUSE OF BRENNAN. Brennan is not supposed to even consider another ex again BECAUSE OF BOOTH. What is so hard to understand about that?

The real world can be a downer. Ever watch the news?? Let us have this one nice thing to count on–that B&B are the center. They are in love and nothing can come between them. Why take that away from us?!?! It’s a fictional show…let us have this one, writers!!!

Brennan would never cheat on Booth. .Ever. They are just being shit stirring, keep it in the writers room, we don’t needed to hear it…Like we never needed to know that they once considered Angela & Booth hooking up WHAT??.. Let’s go by show canon…Brennan would never cheat on Booth. Period.

Though someone should tell Cam & Angela that, what was that about! They thought she would. Actually shocked. What marriage are they watching?

Peterson wrote that ep too, lmao, just shows those were Hart’s lines. Peterson doesnt remember!

Why would he say that. I mean really? 5 eps to go and they actually thoughy for a millisecond Brennan would cheat? Ruin her marriage, break her kids hearts?

Lets all be glad Peterson only had a year and an half as showrunner.

And I don’t get why he said Sully was a blip to B&B, he wasn’t even that, he was a non issue, it was Brennan giving Booth the cold shoulder was the blip. …idk guess cos tvline phrased it in relation to Sully? Still he wasn’t an issue or blip

They also implied that Sully and Brennan keep in touch. That annoys me greatly, platonic or not. There has been absolutely NO indication that Sully has been around in any capacity. Clark asked how long they dated, and even Cam said it wasn’t that long. So there was no reason for them to correspond, nor for everyone to glowingly describe how perfect Sully is. There is absolutely no reason for him to be the reason B&B got together, no reason for him to be so “important” in Brennan’s life. He was a fling from TEN YEARS AGO.

They could’ve handled this in a much different way. Like when things were good in B&B’s world. They literally wrote this in such a soap opera way, playing like Sully could swoop in and snatch her up. And what a weird backstory for him! He sailed away and opened a sandwich shop (did they say why or how that happened??) and is dating a woman half his age…..ok? Well, at least he wasn’t a drug addict. I guess that’s progress. Sheesh.

Nah. Sully wasn’t the reason B&B got together any more than Hannah or Sweets was.

I don’t know, maybe its just me, but I think Brennan just meant how she grew after being with Sully, she wanted more than sex….She wanted Booth & a family….tied in that they made it clear that Brennan loved Booth even with Sully. That’s why he left & never came back.

Am I reaching & being too *generous* yikes, I may lie down, lol

Karine has a crush on Sully, she is writing him through her heart eyes. It isn’t what the show told us, was not Karine finest ep, and certainly wasn’t a beautiful resolution…I am more annoyed that she didn’t have Brennan apologize to Booth & explain her coldness. That was Booth’s problem not Sully. Not one bit.

Great point, Shanny. Brennan opened up to Angela and Sully, but never to the man she’s married to, who gave her space when she asked and didn’t complain when she was cold towards him. The speech she told Angela, I would’ve LOVED to see her deliver to Booth and maybe end with a kiss. That would be the beautiful resolution instead of what we did get. Sigh.

Some may argue that Booth is intuitive and already guessed Brennan’s reasoning behind the coldness, but come on. People have to HEAR that they are wanted and appreciated. Sometimes you need validation from the ones you love! Hopefully Angela calls him and fills him in. Sully doesn’t need to call anymore. 🙂

Very disappointing. Totally agree that Brennan needs to tell Booth what she told Angela. Booth and Brennan need to share the memories of the moments they shared with Max. I mean there is a TON of history there that was just dropped. I didn’t see Brennan even sharing much with Sully. Why in God’s name was he there? She was just telling Sully about Max because Sully had never even met the guy. Maybe they are saving some of the Booth/Brennan stuff for next episode?
WHY? Why did Peterson see the need to kill Max and tell this story? B&B didn’t even have a good talk. They didn’t hash things out. They should have been talking about Max and NOT stupid Sully. Sully doesn’t mean anything – who is going to babysit now? They have more important issues. I can’t believe it they are so blind to the value of Max to B&B. It’s insulting. I hope the oboe player dumps Sully!
In my head, Brennan shares her feelings with Booth and they reminisce about all the crazy things that happened with Max. The time Max and Booth duked it out before Booth arrested him. Max helping to save Booth from ice pick. How about the Christmas that they had in the trailer?? Or when she was hanging out the car window to talk to Max when she left him with Christine. When Max helped them with Pelant, I mean it’s a long long list. And we got that nothing drivel…….
Don’t get me started in Sully taught her anything…..s3 – she had one guy for sex and one for conversation. OMG – they taught her more than Sully! :)))

I had this thought this morning: In addition to NOT resolving poor Booth’s cosmic balance sheet….they’ve ADDED to it! He now has to contend with the guilt over two army buddies’ torturous deaths, and the death of his father in law. So much for trying to atone for his past by trying to live a good life. Looks like all that got him was more pain. Ugh.

Oh my goodness, bb, we really do think alike. This exact thought popped into my had very late last night so I decided to sleep on it and see if I felt the same way this morning, and I do.

It’s not even that the episode was that bad, really. If this had taken place in the middle of a regular 22 episode season this would not have been a big deal. Annoying yes, but not a big impact on the narrative. Honestly, Sully wasn’t even that annoying. He knew that he wasn’t going to “win” Brennan because he could tell she already loved Booth. That was all good.

My problem is that I cannot accept that this is where they are choosing to spend their time (and our time, of course, because we don’t have any say in the matter) with only five episodes left. The next episode looks to be completely silly (written by Hilary Graham and Ted Peterson, ugh) and then who knows with the last three?

What they don’t seem to be addressing at all is Booth’s cosmic balance sheet. I had really hoped that it was going to be one of the big things they focused on to close out the series, but no, we have to “waste” an entire episode on Sully’s story? Why?

The show runners only seem interesting in closing out Brennan’s journey, which is why there was no focus on Booth at all last night. How is Booth feeling about Max’s death? We don’t know. All we do know is that he is clearly worried about his wife shutting him out, yet he doesn’t get any explanation from her about why she was doing that. This episode just felt like another missed opportunity, which is so, so sad.

It’s like the new people watched the early seasons, but completely didn’t get why they were special. They are like “oh, here’s a guy named Sully, lets throw him in the mix”. And “oh yeah Booth was a sniper, so let’s us that somehow”. They missed the important stuff like “keep on tryin”, feeling puckish, Jasper, Brainy Smurf, “what’s between us is ours”, Max with B&B, etc. Somehow they totally missed what people liked about the show. And reading Peterson’s interviews, it seems like it was an on-purpose misunderstanding. He doesn’t seem to hold Hart’s vision in any type of regard. He thinks Hart is a “hippie”, and foolish for wanting people to be happy. Why MP felt the need to put his mark on a show that was already ending instead of finishing out the legacy? I’ll never know. He’s not putting a positive impression on the fans or the actors. Not sure what he thinks he’s really accomplishing here?

From everything I’ve heard I think Michael Peterson is a nice guy, but I’m sorry to say I think this opportunity to be the show runner on Bones completely went to his head. For some reason he seems to think we want to see his new vision for the show, instead of just finishing the show we loved for 10 seasons. As I’ve said before, I think Hart fully intended to write the finale, but when he met with Peterson/Collier they butted heads over story direction and Hart bowed out. In typical Hart fashion he won’t point fingers or create a scandal, so he took the blame by saying he was too busy.

Of course Peterson is being encouraged any all the praise being lavished on him by the Bones bots who love everything, so I’m sure he feels like he’s done a great job.

Well maybe Gordon Gordon helps next episode? This episode really didn’t resolve anything between B&B just got Max buried. Poor Booth got the short end of the stick for sure. This new big bad is making his life even worse……and it appears they won’t be done with it until the finale. Although the jalopy derby will be more fun for B&B. Now it’s not atoning for his past, it’s forgiving himself for his father in law’s death. They really need to have that talk. Maybe next week?

I’m not looking for anything big to happen in episode 9…it was written by Hilary Graham and Ted Peterson, and I don’t think I have liked anything they’ve written. Sometimes we get a kiss in a silly episode, like the one in the undercover cowboy ep, but I’m not holding my breath. Romance is definitely not a priority with these guys.

Bones Bots! Perfect….the do love everything that MP puts out there! Last night was perfect! It just seemed sad to me that B&B who have been there for each other for so long, couldn’t bond over their loss/love of Max. I kept thinking that that is not what Max would want to see. Max was a big shipper! They did leave Booth out of the mix last night. Maybe he gets his due in the finale? But I just don’t like these strangers writing B&B. They miss the mark. Again in this episode they were filming ED in weird ways. Makes me wonder what the issue is/was. And sometimes on this board I get a reply button and sometimes I don’t. I haven’t figured it all out yet. 🙂

Do you ever wonder if Hart is even watching the show anymore? He never comments about it on Twitter. No tweets from DB last night, either before the show telling everyone to watch or afterwards. I’m kind of disappointed tbh, I was hoping DB would have a snarky comment about Sully returning, because I think his story was at the expense of DB’s.

This is a strange culmination to such a long-running show. Almost no participation from the actors, writers, or show runners. Michael Peterson has totally vanished on social media…he probably doesn’t want to hear the reactions lol.

In his tweet he says “Booth and Brennan are being tested but have faith.”

I cannot for they life of me figure out why he feels Booth and Brennan need to be tested yet again. I don’t think they do, and would have much preferred to see them facing challenges together rather than seeing challenges “test” their relationship. It’s just a fundamental difference of opinion that really cannot be reconciled. But, he’s the show runner and I”m not so he wins, except in my mind where I can do anything I want…:)

“Of course Peterson is being encouraged any all the praise being lavished on him by the Bones bots who love everything, so I’m sure he feels like he’s done a great job.”

( LOL, I wish we could somehow make our quotes bold to stand out.) I left him some not so nice replies! I told him the Sully storyline was just stupid esp. to elevate him to that level in Brennan’s life. And I also asked why we have not had one kiss from B&B this final season. 😡

“I cannot for they life of me figure out why he feels Booth and Brennan need to be tested yet again.”

This episode just left me depressed! Depressed that Booth was shut out and alone even at the very end. B&B have been tested enough for god sake. I wanted the last season to be about them together and facing challenges together as a strong married couple. MP has ruined the final season and he has ruined any chemistry between B&B.

“Well, I really cannot express how much I disliked this episode. Booth shunted aside and so sad was just more than I could take. Even thoughts of how good he looked in the episode can’t cheer me up tonight. I’m going to forget most of this season every happened. Max is still alive, Sully never returned, Booth and Brennan have flirty, romantic fun and are madly in love, with no exes showing up ever.”

Totally agree Estella! But it is sad and makes me even more depressed that that is just not what we have this last season 😭

Hi guys! I hope you don’t mind me chatting with you on here but I can’t find a place to discuss the episode without someone telling me I’m wrong for not understanding Sully importance to the episode. Or for feeling slightly more sad for Booth than for Brennan during the episode, maybe I would of felt equally sad for both if it weren’t for the fact that Brennan had a whole support system with her while Booth only had Aubrey. If anything this episode had me missing Sweets more than I already do, at least he would have been there for both of them and not just one of them. As I said on SpoilerTV I kept waiting for two things 1) for someone to point out to Brennan that by shutting Booth out that she is sorta of making it seem like she does blame him and 2) for Brennan to explain why she was shutting him out.

The episode to me just felt very disjointed and is my least favorite episode of the season and the first one I have no plans of ever watching again. It would have been nice to see Brennan not put walls up around herself but face this heartache to their family together. I know some keep talking about how Booth has closed himself off to Brennan in the past at a time of grief but he never told her he needed space and needed her to leave. If anything he wanted her by him not away from him.

The other problem I had with this episode was that it was way to focus on Sully being there and not on the fact that Brennan and Booth lost Max. Maybe Sweets Goodbye episode spoiled me but I felt his lost and celebration of his life more so than I did for Max other than the funeral scene.

Wonderful points Phoenix! What set me off yesterday was Peterson’s tweet saying Brennan need Sully more than Booth at that moment! OMG – if that person guiding this last season we are doomed. He just doesn’t get it if he honestly thinks that.
I didn’t begrudge Brennan having issues processing Max’s death. I’m still having issues with WHY? But she was hurting Booth more by pushing him away, which yes, he did some of in s7 and I didn’t begrudge him that. But like you said, to insert Sully, a person she obviously hasn’t ‘seen’ (‘you’ve aged!) in 10 years with the cure was insulting. To not explain her feelings about Max and the death to Booth to instead again insert some stupid drivel about Sully was doubling insulting.
It was so contrived. WHY? For ratings? He didn’t get them.
He totally misses the intimacy between B&B. They all do, because they have NEVER written it before. They only wrote the murders….and the C story lines. Peterson must have not had a grasp on how really important Max was as a character. Sure making Aldo a drug addict was bad, but didn’t cause a huge uproar. But to disregard Max and use his death as a ploy to come between B&B and insert Sully???? Is just stupidity. Shows what little grasp they have on the B&B characters.

“feeling slightly more sad for Booth than for Brennan during the episode, maybe I would of felt equally sad for both if it weren’t for the fact that Brennan had a whole support system with her while Booth only had Aubrey. ”

Booth really was left alone. The end scene at the gravesite. Booth off standing alone while Brennan hugged Cam & Angela was heartbreaking. They should have been hugging each other! THEY are the ones that loved Max the most!

” he never told her he needed space and needed her to leave. If anything he wanted her by him not away from him.”

Conman in the Meth lab scene-
Brennan: Do you need some time and space?
Booth: Just some time.

Lovely scene, Booth shares cake with Brennan and reveals to her his dad drank.

Utterly agree. When you compare how well handled Booth’s dad death ep was, I watched that at the weekend, wow, that was a powerhouse with David & Emily & Ralph…..and Sweets beautiful eulogy. That is how you do it.

Why on earth did Karine think we want yo hear about frakking Dully (DULLY, I have renamed him) in that B&B scene when it should of been about B&B discussing Brennan pushing him away, apologizing, remembering Max’s memory what he meant to them

Karine wrote that ep for herself, no one else, she certainly didn’t write it for B&B, or us fans, she heart eyes Dully so much, she treated Booth like crap & dishonored B&B strength of being there for each other no matter what, all to justify Dully’s existence

Max, Booth & Brennan deserved better. One of the “writers” said we will get to see B&B deal with Max’s death more in the next ep. It can’t be as badly written as this on that front. Can it?

“One of the “writers” said we will get to see B&B deal with Max’s death more in the next ep. It can’t be as badly written as this on that front. Can it?”

Don’t forget that the next episode was written by Hillary Weisman Graham and Ted Peterson. Ugh. I don’t think I’ve liked anything they have written, so not holding my breath for any kind of decent resolution between B&B.

On the upside, in a reply to a question on twitter about whether we would finally see a B&B kiss in the next episode, Ted Peterson hinted that we would…

“Hmm, maybe at the end. I don’t remember. It’s been a while since I watched it.” At least that seems like he’s hinting at it…if it doesn’t happen I think a part of the fandom will explode…lol!

But for Ted, after seeing the other S12 eps? I will give a tiny prop for 12×3 and mentioning Pops & Booth’s grandma and…..Parker (who?) And B&B talked about their sex life 😱 and I thought the Red & Booth plot was touching, just had to ignore how an old man could move the body & dump it with a broken clavicle. Oooops 😱. Ok 12×3 is actually the cream of S12 for me, how did that happen. Oh wait I just watched 12×8 😨😨

Maybe half the ep might be tolerable? Lol

How dare you mention a kiss, its not HBO you know 🚫💋 Spouses do not kiss. No. No. No. ….yes they do

Wow, there is a whole group of people out there arguing that spouses don’t kiss, other than as foreplay. What planet are these people living on? Strangest thing I ever heard.

As far as “Grief in the Girl” goes, in my mind Brennan welcomed Booth home with a *KISS* (yes, I said it) and an apology, not for needing time alone but for seemingly turning to Sully for comfort instead of him. She tells him that she didn’t leave with Sully 10 years ago because she was already feeling things for him (Booth) that she didn’t understand but couldn’t walk away from.

As for “Steal in the Wheels”, since it’s a Buck/Wanda undercover ep I think if they do kiss at most it will be something silly. David’s rl wife Jaime is in this episode, so maybe B&B kiss in front of her to balance out them kissing in front of ED’s rl hubby in the wedding episode. It won’t amount to much I’m sure.

I had hoped for one more intimate romantic scene such as the beautiful one we got in Partners in the Divorce, but I don’t see any opportunity for that in the remaining episodes, since we’ve probably dealt with the last of the B&B angst for the series.

People kiss. Married people kiss. Why do they get so bent out of shape over a simple kiss… So miserable.

Funny you mention David & Jaime. When Jaime was on set I remember she posted a IG pic on the set cart with David, and he must of been getting off and she turned round….to…wait…for…it… don’t…be…shocked…A KISS!! 💋

How dare they, don’t they this is absolutely not how a married couple act!? 🚫💋

Max, Booth and Brennan definitely deserved better! I didn’t see it so much as Brennan needing to apologize but to explain to Booth where her head was and how she felt about HIS role in her dad’s death. At some point, I honestly think that will happen. Aren’t these bozos dragging that out for the ‘conflict/friction’ aspect? If it doesn’t, these people shouldn’t get paid for their work! OMG – malpractice on the Bones show – does anyone know a good lawyer? LOL

If anything they made Max’s death look like a cheap ploy to create one last relationship drama between them because they thought that’s what we wanted to see in the final season.

I rolled my eyes at Peterson’s comments. Brennan didn’t need Sully she has a whole support system that have been there for her. Isn’t that the point of Brennan having friends so that she can turn to anyone of them during the times that she can’t turn to Booth which she does when she explains to Angela why she’s shutting Booth out. So again why was Sully needed again?

Also if we are suppose to believe that both her and Sully consider the other important then why hasn’t he ever been mentioned once before now? Where was he when her dad went on trial or when she was accused of murder or how about when Booth was locked up? Where was this so call important person for her than?

They are trying to make Sully seem more important than he was and them saying that there needed to be closure between them. No, there was closure when he asked her to go and she said no, there was closure when Gordon helped her understand why she didn’t go with him. So no I don’t buy that a 1 month relationship that happen 10 years ago needed closure.

If any past relationship needed closure it would be Booth and Hannah who were together a lot longer especially since she didn’t think that they were done. Not that I want to see Hannah again but at least it would helluva more sense than what they gave us.

TVLINE | What does it say about Brennan’s relationships with Booth and Sully that she’s having a hard time opening up to Booth, but she’s able to talk to Sully?

Peterson: I think it’s true for a lot of people, actually. People have crises in their lives. Some [confide in] the person closest to them. [For] some, it’s very, very difficult. So first of all, I think it’s very honest, and it can happen. Because you aren’t sure how vulnerable you want to make yourself to the person that you’re with. Sometimes it’s easier to talk about these things with a stranger.

Brennan used to have these walls up. She [eventually] put the walls down, [but] now with the death of her father, she is putting her walls back up and keeping Booth out. We always want to make sure everything is very organic to the characters. It felt very real.

“Brennan used to have these walls up. She [eventually] put the walls down, [but] now with the death of her father, she is putting her walls back up and keeping Booth out.”

This KILLS me. The ENTIRE series has been about Brennan lowering those walls she built around herself and letting others in…first Booth, then others such as Sweets, Angela, Max, Russ, the squinterns. Booth’s partnership, friendship, and love helped her do that.

Why, why, why when we are so close to the end did they feel the need to have her rebuild those walls, shut out Booth, and turn to a S2 character to help her? Just don’t get it. At all. No amount to yapping by Peterson will be sufficient to explain how this was a better story than addressing Parker or Rebecca or even Hannah. Or just don’t address old characters at all. Sigh.

“If any past relationship needed closure it would be Booth and Hannah who were together a lot longer especially since she didn’t think that they were done. Not that I want to see Hannah again but at least it would helluva more sense than what they gave us.”

Same. I don’t really want to see Hannah again but when she left she told Booth that they weren’t finished. Doesn’t that need to be addressed more than Sully?

The answer to this puzzle is that Eddie McClintock is available while Katheryn Winnick is not (she’s in Vikings and she has also been cast in a movie based on Stephen King’s The Gunslinger novel, along with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey…looks like she is finding a lot of success post Bones).

Phoenix, I agree with everything you said. They had no reason to bring Sully in now, because where was he when Brennan was shot? When Booth was shot up and their house blown up? When Brennan was on the run with Christine? And how did he find out about Max so fast? Did he have a Google alert out on Brennan? Is he a creepy stalker? Why is he making sandwiches? What happened to the “Temperance” boat?

Just didn’t make any sense. And you are right, she barely dated Sully. So that means Hannah should’ve gotten a mention. Perhaps that was the Viking tie in??? Nah, can’t give them that much credit.

I did think the Viking talk was a Hannah tie in (for those of us who are die hards and got it) ….that couldn’t have been an accident! I can equate Sully with a Stranger, because that is who he was to 95% of the audience. He didn’t matter, just as the women in Booth’s past don’t matter.
If Hannah doesn’t think she and Booth are done by now – then she’s suffering from serious PTS. Remember, she loves to ‘BING’ I’m sure she’s ‘Bingged’ B&B since she left and knows it’s over! LOL
I am curious as to what Rebecca does in England that required her to move there with Parker. Never a mention of that along the way!
Sandwich maker thing was weird….he did bring Brennan a meatball sandwich. I guess she wasn’t vegetarian yet? The boat would have been more interesting than Sully himself.
Well we know it’s all roses and candy when it’s over. So Brennan’s walls are temporary. I still say, there is a possibility that the end is, I’m pregnant….we better find a new babysitter or something. It would be like MP to make ED endure 6 months of people talking about how bad she looks and how much weight she’s gained. I wouldn’t put it past him at this point.

They did have that conversation in the car about Booth having surgery since he’s so good at getting her pregnant! Makes me wonder if they are gonna do a time jump (perhaps after the lab explosion?) to account for her fuller figure in announcing a pregnancy at the end. They basically did that the first time. (I’m gonna try to forget about the 2nd time where she thought she was eating too many cookies and “didn’t know” she was pregnant)

I could be wrong, but I’m not feeling a happy “ride off into the sunset” ending from MP/JC. They even said that “hippie” Hart would do that, and it seems that they want to walk a different path from Hart (sidenote: I wonder if Hart wanted a happy ending and got shot down?)

I don’t think B&B will be left in an unhappy place, but I think at most we are going to get some sort of vague “we’ll keep fighting and hopefully everything will be ok” ending. I mean, the lab gets blown up at the end of 12×11, and it seems like there is a huge car chase and explosion in 12×12. It’s difficult to see how that could all be wrapped up in a neat bow by the end of the episode. Could be wrong though.

I’m also not feeling a pregnancy announcement. I think in their minds they tied up that storyline in the B&B car conversation…in other words, it might happen, it might not…decide for yourself because (everything) takes place off-screen.

Also, not tying up every loose thread leaves things open for a possible return, although given DB’s “live in the moment and never look back” philosophy I don’t think he would be on board for it.

I do not really see a happy ending either. I guess it depends on your definition of happy. If B&B sitting together on the bench talking after everything is blown up and everyone has been killed off then I guess at least they are alive so that is a happy ending according to Mr. Peterson.

On a sidenote, is there anyway we can make the page wider so we don’t have to scroll down so far?

Well the lab is going to be blown up. So the ending may include chaos for their work, but I don’t envision chaos for their marriage. I figure by then they will have ironed out their differences. He’s purposely created this ‘false’ friction or tension between them. He’s purposely delaying Brennan opening up to him about her feelings. So in the end, I do expect their relationship to be on good terms. I think 11 – is the wedding so they will get through that and then it’s gonna be WWIII as they take on the bad guys in the finale. If Betty White is talking about ‘passion’ in ep. 10 – I’m sure it’s gonna be the topic for all the couples. Perhaps Brennan is concerned about she and Booth getting back to a good place perhaps after a big event like Max’s death?
But this episode, there was a monitor at the head of the table where they lay out the bones. She was behind it at one point. The angles are just so weird.
He could just not have wanted her to talk about it because he wasn’t including it…..but could they have even made any of us worry about Sully if we thought Brennan (and or ED) was pregnant?? We would have known nothing was going to happen. ED rarely even kisses when pregnant!! We got one in s10 I think????? MP says he has not control over how these things are hyped by the marketing department….but I wonder! The Hodgins in me wonders….

Well I have a hubby and he kisses me every day and every night!! Horrors I know!

Ted Peterson did say something about Buck and Wanda fixing things. So I’m thinking the fake tension/drama gets ironed out. But yeah, not expecting much! I definitely think Brennan kissed Booth when he got back from Canada!

I just gave myself a mild headache from rolling my eyes so much at the “true fans” “real fans” saying how better they are because they had faith that writers wouldn’t harm Brennan and Booth’s marriage with Sully’s return.

I’m just wondering can you call yourself a “true fan” or a “real fan” if the only opinion that you will accept is the hive mentality opinion? And does referring to yourself as a “true fan” “real fan” really make you better than others?

Any who. I was talking about the episode with some friends of mines who chose to skip it because of their strong dislike of Sully, and they each point out how odd it was that not only was Russ absent from his own dad’s funeral. But even odder it was that Booth’s son, mom and stepfather didn’t attend either they all knew Max and Parker was close to him. One of friends point out how wrong it felt that with a death in the family B&B’s family wasn’t there and how better it would have been to see Brennan turn to her mother-in-law instead of her ex. One of girls said that if the writers were going to pull the whole she couldn’t talk to someone a part of her daily life than it would have made more sense for her to talk to mother-in-law who isn’t a part of her daily life. She also said that it would have made the episode really moving and could have lead to some good heart to heart moments talking about Max not only for Brennan but for Booth too.

I’m not so sure about bringing Momma Booth back into the story…she was pretty universally despised I think. However, I couldn’t agree more about Parker. I’m getting angrier by the minute that we don’t get to see Parker again — he wasn’t in that many episodes but he is a huge part of Booth’s (and now Brennan’s) life, and I think we deserved some sort of resolution for him.

I really think there was a need for one more father/son discussion between Booth and Parker (what is Parker doing now, what are his goals for the future, does he have a girlfriend yet…) and this past episode would have been a perfect time to do that, except, oh yeah, they had to devote a lot of time to Sully so no time for Parker.

As for the “true fans/real fans” thing…it’s disturbing and yet fascinating. Somehow I guess it does make these folks feel better about themselves to somehow decide who is and is not allowed to be in the “fandom”. I’m sure an entire psychological study could be done on that topic…lol.

On one particular well-known Bones board it’s sad to see a poster attempt to post an even slightly contrary opinion, apologize profusely for doing so, and still get shot down by the queen bees. Hive mentality indeed!

“I really think there was a need for one more father/son discussion between Booth and Parker (what is Parker doing now, what are his goals for the future, does he have a girlfriend yet…) and this past episode would have been a perfect time to do that, except, oh yeah, they had to devote a lot of time to Sully so no time for Parker.”

BINGO BABY! Can you imagine Booth dealing with teen issues, would he be cool dad or fidgety awkward dad?! Haaa!! It saddens me how Booth & Parker just got kicked to the curb. That they weren’t deemed worthy to make one final appearance together. Their scenes were highlights of earlier Bones. 😩💔

Yeah, I’m ok with Marianne Booth hiding somewhere forever. But it would be nice to have given Brennan another option for “opening up” to someone if not her husband. Maybe they could’ve brought in Caroline? Or…*gasp*….Goodman returned from his very long Sabbatical? 🙂 There were other ways to take that storyline.

Though I would’ve preferred a storyline of B&B sticking together, leaning on each other, growing together instead of apart….but that ain’t gonna happen.

Ugh. That “true fan” BS. There is no limiting definition of “fan” to do so is exclusionary and dictatorial. They live in an echo chamber & only want to hear their own pov recited back at them. That’s why it is a shock to their system to read comments, that they swear they never read , that people actually have opinions that are not sanctioned by them. Nobody believe Brennan would cheat. It was the contrived Dully BS & Booth being kicked to curb, both physically & emotionally, was the problem.

Never though of that Booth’s mom would definitely of gave Booth’s perspective. Which was sorely lacking…… Or had Brennan talk to her dad, like she was imagining him, and they got to talk it out. And we got to see Brennan work through her grief with Max. And Max could give us Booth’s perspective too “Booth, greatest guy to ever arrest me” you know give Booth props in Brennan & Max’s journey – remind Brennan that she has a loving husband to support her, don’t push him away – does that make sense ? Have you seen that done in other tv shows? It is really effective storytelling if done right. And we would of got to see Ryan again for longer scenes, poor man barely got any airtime all season

And thing is she only spoke to Dully about her dad once. Once. And the scene was more about him & wrapping up why he left and never came back. NOBODY CARES, it was 10yrs ago. Oh and grief makes you act differently. No shit Sherlock. Oh and Booth isn’t going anywhere. No shit Sherlock. Oh and he knew Brennan always was destined with Booth. No shit Sherlock…..Also would it of killed Karine to of had Brennan say to Dully that she had stayed because she loved Booth, that he is the love of her life, flat out to Dully’s face? Angela’s scene with Brennan actually got to the heart of the issue about B&B, which should of been explained to Booth onscreen. Show us. Karine wrote this ep as a crush letter to her crush Dully. It certainly was no farewell love letter for Max, Booth or Brennan.

Ok, so I re-watched this episode and a few different things occurred to me:

– I really liked Aubrey’s friendship with Booth in this episode. He was so concerned and caring when it seemed like Booth was all alone…that was nice.

– when Booth and Brennan exchanged the “I love you’s” in the living room it almost felt like David and Emily were speaking to each other. No, I’m not saying they are romantically involved, but they do love each other as friends, and they love each other through these characters they have portrayed. Especially when David said “I love you Bones, always” so softly. Anyway, just my take on it.

– When Brennan started Max’s eulogy and she was talking about the Norse mythology of the fallen warriors in Valhalla, you could see Booth standing behind her, and I could imagine this speech applying to him as well as to Max. In fact, I could imagine Brennan saying this same thing about Booth at his funeral, and honestly that thought brought tears to my eyes.

– Remember when Brennan was writing her will and she was planning some sort of horrible funeral where her body would be picked apart by birds, or something like that, and Booth was horrified? I wonder if Max’s funeral would make her rethink her plans?

Agreed, Estella. I noticed Aubrey’s concern as well. I was happy that Booth had SOMEONE in his corner. Even the Canadian investigator was not really in his corner. If Booth was a real life person, how could he handle this constant rejection? His mother, father, brother, baby mama, coworkers, Brennan (at times), even the FBI….I read an MP tweet where he responded that Booth was strong and he could take it…but there’s only so much a person could and SHOULD take! Give the man a break. He occasionally needs some validation as a father, husband, agent. He gets basically nothing. I started watching the show because there were two fierce leads that were top in their fields and I feel like the focus of that has shifted so much. Glad Brennan is getting storylines and (supposedly) growth, but Booth deserves it too!

Well I’m growing to like Aubrey. I’m glad he was there for Booth in this episode. I don’t know what they were thinking about this stupid Sully story. It was so lame and contrived. They really should have killed off Rebecca and then had Parker come home to live with the B’s. That would have been a new challenge, a teenager full time, adjustments etc.. Why they killed Max I just don’t know. And for this lame story…..I guess it’s still playing out. But Geez Louise!
My biggest issue, beyond an excuse for Sully who meant nothing, was the bit about Sully got Brennan ready for Booth. That ruins the ILY scene for me. It’s so wrong. Maybe you’re right Shanny, maybe Karine had a thing for the guy who plays Sully? I’m still waiting for the purpose of Max’s death. Has MP stated that yet?
Good point about the other members that were missing at the funeral. Russ re-cast needed to be there. I mean they have recast Parker for short bits. No one would have been upset. And least her brother has been on more recently than Sully and HE did have an influence in Brennan’s life. They didn’t need to include his wife and kids.
The eulogy was good and could very well have been about Booth.
Marianne isn’t the best, but she’s all the kids have now. Perhaps if this program is ever revised, they could do a reverse, Marianne and Brennan bond and Brennan bridges the gap between son and mother, bringing Marianne more into the fold. But that’s never gonna happen.
The fandom bots are really crazy. I mean when they start explaining away no kisses…..with kisses are foreplay….it’s over the edge crazy! Zero dissent allowed. That’s not a fandom that’s a gulag. The you love Bones as it is aired and sing it’s praises or you are banned! But they do amuse me in their one mindedness and the way they attack if they feel anyone is saying anything negative. Like do they get kick backs from MP for that? LOL

I don’t think the new people are looking at this show through the same lens we are. We are looking at the “sum of the parts” so to speak, and encompassing all that has happened in 12 years. I think the new folks are looking very narrowly at certain areas, but not taking into account what those things meant in the grand scheme of things. You would think if you were going to be a part of a show, even as a newbie, that you would watch all the episodes, maybe pop on a message board or two, and put time into researching what the show has been about…and I feel like nobody has really done that. Sure, they’ve added some stuff here and there from early seasons, but they don’t understand how to incorporate them correctly. There is a definite disconnect and I’m not sure exactly why that is but at least we have head canon. That’s what I keep telling myself. Anything I don’t agree with, my brain rejects. So the Aldo stuff, Max stuff, Sully stuff, never happened. Boom. Take that, TPTB!

The only way I can deal with her saying Dully got her ready is that she was never really open to relationships before, they were flings, and Dully opened her eyes a bit she could have a more if she was wanted it but she realized it would only be with Booth. Hence why she stayed & never had a relationship outside flings again until Booth. But she had a long way to go, even S5 she wasn’t ready, she feared she didn’t gave a open heart…it took until S6 before she lost her imperviousness

Her wedding vows were before Dully, 100th episode instant attraction was before Dully….the love for Booth was always there but so was her fear of 100% commitment

***********

BOOTH: Give it time, Bones, okay? Give it time. Everything happens eventually.
BRENNAN: Everything?
BOOTH: All the stuff, okay, that you think never happens – it happens. You just gotta be ready for it.

**************

Booth said in S2, the last Dully ep, that everything happens eventually you just have to be READY, well I think they were trying to tie that in, from the day that Dully left, Brennan was getting ready for Booth & her life with Booth.

Whatta I know but it works for. It takes a village to get B&B together apparently, Sweets, Dully, Hannah, Vincent, Pops, Micha the security guy…anyone else the writers decide to fit in their ep on a whim *sighs*

Well I agree Shanny – to a point. In one of the 4 episodes Dully Sully was in, she and Angela had that conversation….that whenever a guy gets to close she pushes him away. To me, that made it sound like she’d had other ‘good’ guys. Maybe we didn’t see them. That one guy off the internet in season 1. Heck, what about Peter in the Pilot? She was living with him! Totally negates Dully Sully being anything more than that! LOL
MP and KR probably totally forgot about that – HH would have remembered! LOL
I agree BnB – you would have thought there would have been more of a real ‘study’ if you were going to take over the series. Sure, they knew parts, but to really know the whole, it takes watching and re-watching like some of us have done over the years.
Someone should have told them about Bones Theory! All those deep involved discussions with pictures! I know DB told them to review s1 – but they needed more than that obviously.
I still don’t believe they didn’t embrace Hart’s vision. Because you’re right Estella – Hart would have written the finale if they had. Right there, they probably pissed off both DB and ED. But they had to be team players. Because even though Hart had severed ties by s10 – he was there and involved when they did 200 under Nathan! Interesting….I wonder if Hart would tell us later what his ideas were?????

They definitely don’t. I laughed out loud when MP tweeted me, saying that he loves HH and HH would have approved. Um, no. I’ve read your own interviews, buddy. Plus we know you didn’t take his thoughts about how to wrap up the show he started! I think its basically a slap in the face to not use things like what 447 means. It doesn’t make sense why they couldn’t use what HH was thinking as a springboard and maybe add their own ideas to that. Why would they feel like they should take a hit show, that has a huge following, and decide to mess with everything right at the end of it?
It just doesn’t make sense. From a career standpoint, I’d ride the coattails of what HH/SN started and use that success to get the next job. I can only imagine that the ratings slump and fan outrage would hurt their changes for the next thing they want to do.

“Well I agree Shanny – to a point. In one of the 4 episodes Dully Sully was in, she and Angela had that conversation….that whenever a guy gets to close she pushes him away. To me, that made it sound like she’d had other ‘good’ guys. Maybe we didn’t see them. That one guy off the internet in season 1. Heck, what about Peter in the Pilot? She was living with him! Totally negates Dully Sully being anything more than that! LOL
MP and KR probably totally forgot about that – HH would have remembered! LOL”

HAAAA!! Peter. He actually got to live with Brennan. That just makes Karine and her Dully vision all kinds off & wonky…Guess its true Karine, love makes you blind. Its a pity Karine just didn’t write her own personal fan fic and save this ep for writers who didnt want to push their eschewed Dully love agenda 👎

*******

“I don’t think the new people are looking at this show through the same lens we are. We are looking at the “sum of the parts” so to speak, and encompassing all that has happened in 12 years. I think the new folks are looking very narrowly at certain areas, but not taking into account what those things meant in the grand scheme of things”

THIS!!!. Cherry picking pickers. I loved you referenced that – Parts in the Sum of the Whole

“My biggest issue, beyond an excuse for Sully who meant nothing, was the bit about Sully got Brennan ready for Booth. That ruins the ILY scene for me. It’s so wrong. Maybe you’re right Shanny, maybe Karine had a thing for the guy who plays Sully? I’m still waiting for the purpose of Max’s death. Has MP stated that yet?”

No reason given by MP. My thoughts on it are he just wanted some drama & shock value for ratings so he decide to kill off Max. DUMB!!

Lol, Dully! I did like the ILY scene, even though the comment that Dully “got me ready for this” is just stupid. No kisses, so a hug and ILY is as good as it gets.

I have to say also, that this episode is the most I’ve like Aubrey. Usually he just irritates me, but this episode he was the only one there for Booth!

“He was so concerned and caring when it seemed like Booth was all alone…that was nice.”

Shanny, completely agree about your comments about the “true fan” bs and Dully. The more I think about the episode the more disappointed I am in what we got and what we didn’t get.

The problem with crediting so many people for the reason that Brennan and Booth eventually got together is that the writers are making it seem like Brennan and Booth had no part to play. I have always felt that Booth chasing Brennan after their first case began their journey to eventually getting together since he was first and only person that fought his way into her life. Brennan was so uses to people giving up and leaving and disappearing from her life she wasn’t use to anyone activated trying to be apart of life other than her brother of course, but Booth fought to show her that not everyone leaves. Which is why that credited goes completely to Booth. Booth has shown Brennan that no matter how hard she pushes, no matter how many walls she builds, no matter whether they stayed friends/partners or became more that she would never lose him no matter what.

If you think about it Brennan subconsciously and consciously has been testing Booth to see what would it take to make him leave and disappeared out of her life like others who have claimed they cared about her. The harder Brennan pushed the hard Booth has pushed back and proven to her over and over again there’s nothing she could do that would make her lose him. Unlike Dully who once again prove to her that those who claimed they care leave, to this day every time I would watch the scene of him saying to her that “he knows her better than anyone” I roll my eyes. Because he never thought that telling her he loves her and being another person to walk out of her life wasn’t showing her that she should open herself up to a relationships, but that her opinion about how relationships were temporary is true.

So the writers trying to credited even partly to Dully for her being read for a real relationship especially a real relationship with Booth is complete BS in my opinion.

Hi Phoenix, thanks for posting these fan questions. Would you mind sharing where you saw these, just in general terms? Was it on another forum, or were these tweets sent to MP? I’m curious because I would like to know if there is any chance TPTB saw them.

I understand if you don’t want to ‘reveal your source” though…lol!

I’m going to respond to each fan question in a separate response, to try to keep things a little more organized.

I don’t mind. I saw the first question on twitter but it wasn’t sent to MP, it was someone who just out around to watching the episode and other two I saw on another forum. So no telling if he saw the one from twitter.

From Phoenix’s post…Fan— How does adding three more people to his cosmic balance sheet help him comes to terms with the lives he has taken?”

This question just makes me sad. I would be shocked if we hear the phrase “cosmic balance sheet” again. I don’t think it was even in Peterson’s mind. Again, if it’s “all about Brennan” then this won’t be addressed.

“Fan– Why does Booth’s arc feel like it’s about punishing him for being a soldier/sniper and daring to have life?”

Flat out had his army pal in 12×4 guilt trip him for being happy & having a great life (nice friend,…also were was he when Booth had a brain tumor, got shot, went to jail.?)

“Fan– Does anyone else feel like they killed Max to make Booth’s arc about Brennan and less about him?”

YES. And YES. Its all about Brennan & her loss now, how she deals, she gets a support system, gets to vocalize how she feels…Booth gets to sit in the dark & look moody, having to suck up every blow without ever discussing his feelings, basically like he is alone in the world…..Is Peterson remaking Angel? Lol. 😕

From Phoenix’s post…“Fan– Does anyone else feel like they killed Max to make Booth’s arc about Brennan and less about him?”

Yes. I think this line of thinking was really illustrated in this twitter exchange between a fan and MP:

Fan: “I felt like Booth was SO hurt, pushed away, there needed to be scene were he got to hear why. I felt Booth’s side got dropped”

MP: “You may be right but Booth is tough enough to take the hard knocks. :-)”

That makes me think that they have no intention of addressing Booth’s storyline before the end of the series, which is truly sad. It seems like somehow MP got it into his head that Bones is all about Brennan’s story, and that’s all they need to wrap up.

It’s also sad that MP sees Booth as being tough enough to take the hard knocks. Booth is tough physically for sure, but he is not tough emotionally in many cases. He needs Brennan. He needs his family. He needs to be loved, but all we saw was him getting shoved away while Brennan sought comfort from Sully.

As I suspected about this ep, in their minds the 30 second convo and hug between B&B at the end is supposed to make up for everything. I just don’t agree. Some of Sully’s dialogue about his 28 year-old oboe player girlfriend could have been axed in favor of a little more B&B discussion, imo.

You know what? I am starting to think that there was a scene cut with B&B on the phone together when Booth was in Canada. That time Booth was looking out the window upset. Maybe he was checking in with her and she brushes him off that she was going out for dinner with Sully. And they cut it because of fan uproar leading up to this ep and it really makes Brennan look bad esp when she said she wanted to be alone but has no problem out having dinner with her ex; to visually see that is just rubbing salt in the wound for Booth. That’s the only way that end scene makes 1% any sense. A missing scene. Otherwise they all need to hand in their writers card membership because that writers room failed spectacularly with this ep and mainly that B&B scene

I agree about the cut scene. Something was weird about that scene of Booth looking through the blinds. Was that supposed to mirror the scene in S6 at the diner, when he looked out through the blinds at Brennan and Max? Or maybe it was mirroring the scene S6 “The Change in the Game” when Booth was looking through the blinds “the morning after”. Or maybe it didn’t mirror anything. Who knows. Why was that scene in there? What was Booth thinking there? Was he wondering if Brennan had built up her walls and shut him out for good? Was he wondering if Brennan was rolling in the sack with Sully? Was he pondering what to have for dinner? No clue.

The other thing that gets me are all those little looks DB gives when he is watching Sully interact with Brennan, like when he asks her out to dinner right in front of him. The director must have asked DB to do that, or at least decided to leave it in when they saw him do it. So why were those looks in there? Were we supposed to think Booth was concerned about Sully, only to find out at the end of the episode that he wasn’t concerned at all? No clue.

Also, I don’t care that Brennan says you should go to Canada, Booth. The correct answer is “Two of my children just lost their caregiver and last remaining grandparent. If you need space I’ll leave you alone, but I need to stay here because my children need me.”

Absolutely. His death impacted everyone, and while Brennan was his daughter, his grandchildren were very close to him. She obviously wasn’t in shape to help the children with their own grief (and why weren’t they at the funeral?)

Fan comment – Who on earth walked into a writer’s meeting and suggested that the episode after Brennan’s dad dies they bring back her ex-boyfriend and not her brother? Even if they had to recast Russ, doing the wedding without him was bad enough but this just looked like they would rather have contrived drama than genuine emotion.

Shanny, this post is perfect. I agree with every single word. You are right about Booth leaving his children after a loss like that…he just wouldn’t do it. Hank is too young to know what is going on but Christine is certainly not. (as an aside, the deaths they keep writing into the show are taking a real toll on little Christine…in her young life she’s lost Uncle Sweets, Uncle Jared, Pops, and Grandpa.)

You are right about Russ. I have seen comments on other forums that they should have recast him, and I agree. Even if they still went with the “Brennan shoving Booth away to Canada” storyline, Russ could have been the one to go out to dinner with Brennan, hug her, cry with her, and make her realize that she should be crying with Booth. But, if they did that with Russ instead of Sully they wouldn’t have able to hint at Brennan cheating on Booth.

MP doesn’t have a let to stand on when he says he doesn’t do drama for drama’s sake.

Complete agree about both fan comments. I understand Brennan needed time but to have her not think about what her kids needs is just plain wrong in my book. It feels like the writers were more focus on their agenda of shoving Dully down our throats. That they didn’t even think how contrived the story they were telling was but that doesn’t surprise me since this episode was hyped up by MP.

Good comments all! MP isn’t even getting Brennan right in this contrived drama….so it’s not like they are just giving Booth the shaft in my opinion.
What Brennan needed was Booth and them grieving/talking about Max together. There was zero attention given to the kids, her brother or her husband…..just stupid Dully story that made no sense. MP was talking ‘organic’ in his remarks, so far this Max dies story is very inorganic.
Maybe MP is trying to prove himself, maybe that is why he went against Hart? Maybe he thinks if he gets this right, that Fox may think better of him or something. But he has failed miserably so far.
Not sure what the next 4 episodes will bring, but MP is missing the mark where B&B are concerned. He doesn’t know the characters. Either one of them at this point and it’s sad.
It’s like they didn’t think Max was a major character to the B’s. BOTH – it’s so sad.

When MP tweeted me back, saying HH would LOVE this season….HH himself never responded. He’s not supporting MP at least publicly….so I think MP is talking a out of his you-know-where and I don’t think HH would be on board. At all. It will be interesting to see if he does come out with his real feelings after the show wraps.

I re-watched parts of this episode because I wanted to see what you all were talking about with the scene with Booth in the Canadian office. I’m thinking maybe there wasn’t a scene cut out so much as Booth was reflecting on the fact that Cam called instead of Brennan? And who knows what Cam told Booth anyway….it just showed how sad and isolated he felt.
On second watch, a couple of other things….I didn’t think on first viewing that Sully was asking ONLY Brennan to dinner. I thought maybe he meant both of them??? I noted that Brennan didn’t ‘dress-up’ for Sully which was good! Boots and Blazer forever and then that pregnant lady who was crying in the conference room. I think she actually spelled out how we were supposed to view Brennan’s state of mind. I think Booth got it and Brennan too. Lady was pregnant and has a husband and her question was why do I feel like I don’t have a family anymore? And then the talk about the sister who just wanted to get away. I just wish they would have used that conversation to come full circle. I guess they did a little when Brennan told Booth how she loves ‘this’ the life they have built. BUT they shoved Sully in there which was so wrong imo.
It reminded me of s2 – Stargazer – when the theme was ‘what you did was wrong but you did it out of love’. Hart did a magnificent job with that crime mirroring what Brennan was going through. And Brennan brought it full circle with her scene with the mother and then Booth at the altar. That is a really good episode! This episode fell VERY short of that one for sure! This episode just didn’t make sense without a really strong B&B scene.

“and then that pregnant lady who was crying in the conference room. I think she actually spelled out how we were supposed to view Brennan’s state of mind.”

NWChic, I totally agree. I thought that was exactly what Brennan was internally thinking. And I also assumed it was going to lead to a similar scene with Brennan finally breaking down and letting Booth in and getting support from him. I guess she did hug him at the end but they didn’t seem to address her feelings and grief specially with/to Booth, but she just talked to everyone else about it. I wouldn’t necessarily mind all that if she had a final scene where finally she let Booth into her heart and mind but apparently its not necessary to do that with your husband. It just had such potential but didn’t reach it.

I think that’s the problem with all of Season 12. It’s like they have ideas and they have interesting set ups, but they can’t pull it all together at the end.

“On second watch, a couple of other things….I didn’t think on first viewing that Sully was asking ONLY Brennan to dinner. I thought maybe he meant both of them???”

Hmm, I definitely thought he was asking only Brennan to dinner. Booth raised his eyebrows and looked a little confused, Aubrey also looked confused and then he and Booth exchanged a look. I think they were definitely trying to imply that Booth was concerned, or at least taken aback, that Sully asked Brennan to dinner. It’s all very silly high-school behavior and totally unnecessary.

“I noted that Brennan didn’t ‘dress-up’ for Sully which was good! Boots and Blazer forever”

Yes, it was good it wasn’t portrayed as a romantic date. I also loved that she talked about Booth…kind of a callback to her date with Hacker when she talked about Booth the whole time…lol.

I love Stargazer episode! It shows what compassion Brennan had back then! Plus Max & Booth fighting in the parking lot and the ending with B&B embracing at the alter “So, what do we do now?” Vintage Bones.

“And I also assumed it was going to lead to a similar scene with Brennan finally breaking down and letting Booth in and getting support from him.”

That is how it should have been! I liked the ILU’s, but like someone had said, Booth got a “mom hug”. Remember in Season 8, “you’re my partner always”…They could have given us a kiss like that after Booth said, “I love you Bones, always” Icing on the cake.

“I may not have killed that girl, but… if it wasn’t for me, she’d still be alive.”

Yes Shanny – that is where I thought Booth’s head was too. Sad he didn’t get to express that to his wife. Why couldn’t they have B&B share their feelings without it looking like it detracted from either’s ability to grieve? This stuff about Brennan just wanting to internalize her feelings and grieve so she didn’t have to worry about Booth. Seemed so odd. Eventually she DOES have to worry about Booth AND her kids. There was zero concern about their kids in this episode from either character. Their grandfather/important care giver was just ripped from their lives and neither parent even mentioned them aside from Brennan saying she thought they would like routine. HUGE things were missing here. They tried to do too much when they contrived the insertion of Dully into the equation. He didn’t belong there and he didn’t fit. Like it’s been said before, he took away from what should have been B&B bonding/mending time. Now that could come next episode….but it hurt this one in my eyes. For me, Peterson doesn’t have the right to go back and interpret Hart’s story at this point. Sully is/was a nonentity for 10 years. And as every bone head knows….no take backs, no changies! But that was s3 – MP probably doesn’t know that. This is his interpretation of Hart’s creation….one I don’t think he should be making at this point. imo

“This stuff about Brennan just wanting to internalize her feelings and grieve so she didn’t have to worry about Booth. Seemed so odd. Eventually she DOES have to worry about Booth AND her kids. There was zero concern about their kids in this episode from either character. ”

Very selfish IMO! Who is going to worry about Booth if not his wife? He is grieving the loss of his father-in-law, friend also! Maybe Hannah should make a reappearance so he can turn to her for some comfort. They can go to dinner and discuss things.
LOL…KIDDING of course, but that is how TPTB seem to think.

““This stuff about Brennan just wanting to internalize her feelings and grieve so she didn’t have to worry about Booth. Seemed so odd. Eventually she DOES have to worry about Booth AND her kids. There was zero concern about their kids in this episode from either character. ”

Very selfish IMO! Who is going to worry about Booth if not his wife?”

So many great comments this morning…would love to respond to them all, but this in particular caught my attention…couldn’t agree more with that question about who’s comforting Booth. The only people who showed any concern for Booth at all were Angela and Aubrey. Angela kind of dropped her concern for Booth after Brennan explained why she couldn’t worry about him. Aubrey was great, but he can only offer so much to Booth. What Booth needs has to come from his family. Sad that he was just left out in the cold in this episode, and that the B&B scene didn’t really live up to what it could have been.

I too hope that they will show us B&B having a deeper discussion about losing Max in the next episode, but considering this is the undercover demo derby ep, DB’s wife Jaime and son Jaden are in it as well as Stephen Fry, I’m not holding my breath. It looks jam-packed as it is, and I’m not sure how/when a serious B&B convo would happen. We’ll see.

I agree about all the good comments today…the one that stands out to me is the comments about the kids. When Booth said OK, he’d go to Canada….I’m like, NOOOO! #1, why would Brennan WANT her husband and her children’s father to leave so soon after Max’s death, and #2, why would that be ok in any circumstance to take away another person the children loved at that time?? If Brennan felt she needed to throw herself back into work that’s one thing, but to tie up both parents seems like terrible idea. Period. If Brennan needed “space”, then she could get a hotel room somewhere and let Booth be with his children. If I was him, I’d say that very thing to her. “Push me away, but I’m not leaving my kids.” Aubrey could have gone up there alone or taken a squint if need be, and called into Booth who stayed in Washington. There was literally no reason to send Booth away, unless DB just hated the Sully crap that much.

I think we all understand the Bones writing method by now. They decide on the message they want to deliver in the episode and then they ignore anything that doesn’t fit. If this episode was all about Brennan feeling like she didn’t have a family anymore and feeling like she needed to grieve alone then that is the message they were going to deliver. Everything else (Booth’s struggles with grief for Max AND with being pushed away by Brennan, how the children were doing) got dropped in favor of that central point they wanted to get across.

I always imagine that in the writers room they have one of those big whiteboards like you see on crime shows, with the story all laid out and arrows connecting everything. Then I think, why doesn’t someone in the room say “hey, would Booth really leave his kids after they lost their Grandpa?”, or “hey, Parker and Max were really close…maybe we should mention Parker at some point”, or “hey, why is Sully telling Brennan that Booth isn’t going anywhere…doesn’t she know that by now?”, or “hey, does it really make sense that Russ wouldn’t attend his own father’s funeral…how about recasting that role for this one episode?”, or “hey…”

I could go on and on and on…

“There was literally no reason to send Booth away, unless DB just hated the Sully crap that much.”

I’m pretty sure he hated it. I’m still surprised he didn’t tweet any cryptic remarks about it. Maybe his complete silence on this episode speaks for itself?

One of friends of bite the bullet and watched the episode said that in his opinion this is worst episode of grief he has ever seen on Bones, he didn’t like how the writers had Brennan put up walls and shut Booth out. Like many of us he felt more sad for Booth than he did Brennan, do to how they had Brennan treating him and only him throughout the episode, he said that if they had Brennan shutting out everyone he wouldn’t had spent the entire episode fuming. He also said this got to be the first time that he’s ever seen someone push another person away during a time of grief all the way to another country. The writers took a episode that should have left us emotionally drain and turned it into an episode were you spent most of the time pissed off then feeling like you were saying goodbye to a character. He added the writers for this season should have watched Sweets goodbye episode and took notes on how to write a Goodbye episode for a character.

LOVED this guy’s video….I think we pretty much have included his remarks here! But I love seeing our feelings vindicated. He doesn’t even seem to know how much things have changed behind the scenes, but he definitely sees the difference in seasons 11/12!! MP and JC don’t get B&B and that is the consensus of sane people. The bots are still stuck on the mantra that hugs are more important than kissing! LOL

I was thinking yesterday about “Memories in a Shallow Grave” and how lovey dovey they were with each other. Kissing, like making out type of kissing, snuggling, acting like they loved each other! I loved Booth giving her that “I think you are super hot” once-over in the kitchen when she was talking about his pride at his virility lol

Such a difference now. Maybe if I had never seen them acting like that, I wouldn’t know what I was missing. But I DID see it, and so now just plain hugs aren’t enough.